Piano-action.



F. PBCK.

PIANO ACTION.

A PPPPP A'I'IO NNNN ED MAR. 111111 3.

1,079,435, Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK PECK, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE HOBART M. CABLE COMPANY, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF LIIIILJLIN'QISv PIANO-ACTION.

1,079,435. gj a To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK PEoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Laporte, in the county of Laporte and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains in general to piano actions and has more particular reference to the mechanism for operating the hammer.

One of the primary object-s of the present invention is to provide a piano action in which the hammer will be positively returned, after its operating stroke, by the operating jack upon its return movement, thereby eliminating from the action the usual bridle wire, bridle tape, bridle strap and the guiding portion of the back stop through which the bridle tape is customarily threaded. My invention, therefore, simplifies the construction of the action, reduces its cost of manufacture and decreases the liability of the action to get out of order.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art as the same is better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation of a piano action embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the hammer butt; showing the pin before it has been bent to operative position. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hammer but-t pin before it has been applied to the hammer butt.

On the drawings reference character 5 indicates the rail or support extending lengthwise of the piano upon which various parts of the mechanism are mounted. A block 6, commonly known as a damper flange, is mounted upon the upper edge of the rail 5 and has a pair of cars projecting backwardly from the rail between which the damper lever 7 is pivotally mounted on the pintle 8. A damper block 9 is mounted upon the upper end of the damper lever and carries a damper 10 which is normally urged into engagement with the piano wire Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 19, 1913.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

Serial No. 755,271.

11 by a spring 12 mounted upon the damper flange 6.

A butt flange 13 somewhat similar in construction to the damper flange 6 is secured to the front face of the rail 5 and the ham mer butt 14 is pivotally mounted between the ears of the flange upon a pin or pintle 15. A hammer shank 16 fixed to the hammer butt carries at its upper extremity a hammer 17 of well known or preferred construction which is adapted to strike the wire 11 in the usual manner upon actuation of the hammer butt, the customary hammer rest rail 18 being positioned rearwardly of the hammer shank to form a rest for the hammer when in inoperative position. The hammer is normally urged into the inoperative position shown by a light butt spring 19 carried by the spring reel 21.

The wippen 22 is pivotally mounted at 23 between the ears of a block or flange 24 fixed to the rear face of the rail 5, said wippen carrying at its rear end an upwardly projecting spoon 25 adapted to operate the damper lever 7 upon actuation of the wippen. A member 26 pivotally connected at 27 to the wippen projects downwardly in position to be operated by the rear end of the key lever 28 in the usual manner. A back-check 29 is carried by a back check wire 31 rigidly mounted in the wippen, this back-check being adapted to be engaged by the back-stop 32 carried by a shank 33 fixed to the hammer butt 14. The hammer is actuated by an operating device or jack 3a pivotally mounted at 35 between the ears of a block 36 which is fixed to the wippen 22. The jack has, at its lower end, a forwardly extending arm or finger 37 and an expansion spring 38 is interposed between this finger and the wippen 22 to normally urge the jack in a clockwise direction about its pivot. A regulating screw 39 mounted in a suitable block 41 carries a buffer 42 which is disposed in the path of the finger 37 so that, upon upward movement of the wippen and jack, the jack is swung in a counter-clockwise direction on its pivot and against the force of the spring 38 by engagement of the arm 37 with the buffer.

The parts thus far described, with the ex ception of the novel formation of the upper end of the jack which will be niore fully brought out hereinafter, are of usual and well known construction and operate in a manner which is familiar to those skilled in the art. In order to insure a positive return of the hammer, it has been customary heretofore to attach one end of a bridle tape to the hammer butt at the base of the back stop shank 83, the other end being equipped with a leather bridle strap which is connected with a bridle wire extending from the wippen parallel with and behind the back-check shank 31. The lower end of the back stop was also elongated and provided with an aperture through which the bridle tape was threaded, the back stop thereby serving as a guide for the bridle tape between its ends. These bridle tapes have always been a source of trouble and annoyance in pianos for the reason that in assembling a piano the adjustment of the bridle wires consumed considerable time and required no little skill and, also, for the reason that if a mouse or rat gets into the piano it will invariably gnaw the tapes, thus impairing, if not entirely destroying, the proper operation of the action.

My present invention is designed to eliminate the bridle tapes and their accessories from the action and, with this end in view, I have provided a construction, which will now be described, whereby the hammer is positively returned directly by the jack upon its return movement. The lower face of the hammer butt 14 is curved and covered with a wearing buffer 43 of leather, or other suitable material, in the usual manner, strips 44 of softer material being preferably interposed beneath the lower portion of the wearing buffer to absorb the shocks incident to the initial upward movement of the jack 34 and to ease the action. Adjacent the ends of the strip 43 and the lower strip 44 the hammer butt is provided with an inclined socket adaptedto receive a pin 45 which is threaded into the socket the required depth and then bent downwardly as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to seat in a groove 46 formed on the front face of the hammer butt beneath the socket. the pin is bent as indicated at 47 to project toward the jack 34 and the bend in the pin and the groove in which the bent portion of the pin lies prevent turning of the pin in the socket, thereby insuring that the projecting end 47 will always be disposed in proper relation to the jack. After the pin has been positioned in the hammer butt a pad of felt 48, or other similar material,

The extremity of similar material, and is adapted to engage with the end 47 of the pin 45 upon the re turn stroke of the jack, thereby pulling downwardly upon said pin and positively returning the hammer to inoperative posi tion against the rail 18. The bent pin and the cooperating shoulder on the jack are adapted, therefore, to perform the same function that the bridle tape and mechanism associated therewith, has heretofore performed, the present construction being much simpler, more positive in its action and much less liable to get out of order.

When the wippen is swung in a clockwise direction about its pivot 23 upon the operation of a piano key, the jack is moved upwardly to swing the hammer butt on its pivot and cause the hammer to strike its wire or string. hen the finger 37 of the jack contacts with the buffer 42 the jack is swung on its pivot away from the hammer butt thereby permitting the hammer to be thrown back by the butt spring 19 until the back stop 32 strikes the back-check 29. Reverse movement of the wippen will withdrawn the back-check and retract the jack. As the jack travels downwardly the spring 38 will cause the shoulder 49 to overlie the end 47 of the pin so that the hammer butt will be positively swung in a counter-clockwise direction on its pivot to return the hammer to inoperativeposition against the hammer rail.

It is believed that my invention and its mode of operation will be fully understood from the foregoing without further descrip tion and, while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be manifest that the structural details disclosed may be varied within considerable limits without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims, or sacrificing any of the material advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A piano action comprising a jack, a hammer butt provided with a socket and a groove at the mouth of the socket disposed at an angle to the socket, and a pin threaded into said socket and bent at the mouth of the socket to lie in said groove whereby turning of the pin is prevented, the free end of the pin being bent outwardly toward the jack in position to be engaged'thereby upon return movement of the jack.

2. A piano action comprising a hammer butt provided with a socket and a groove at the mouth of said socket disposed at an angle to the axis of the socket, and a pin having one end threaded and its other end bent at an angleto the threaded portion, said pin being threaded into said socket and bent at the mouth of the socket to lie in said groove with the bent end projecting from said groove,

3. A piano action, comprising a jack, 2. the free end of the pin being bent toward hammer butt positioned to be operated by the jack to be engaged thereby upon return said jack and provided with a socket and a movement of the jack.

groove at the mouth of the socket disposed FRANK PECK. 5 at an angle thereto, and a pin positioned in Witnesses:

said socket and bent to lie in said groove EDWIN W. SGHURZ,

whereby turning of the pin is prevented, H. V. MCLAUGI-ILIN.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

